August 22, 2023
Future Looks Bright: The Exact Sciences Internship Program
Students find opportunities across the company to grow their skills, their goals and their networks.
No making copies or fetching coffee here.
At Exact Sciences, interns tackle real-world projects that help change lives, through hands-on work related to their career interests or studies. They run lab processes. They create critical materials. They improve the business in tangible ways that benefit patients.
The internship program is one component of Exact Sciences' early talent strategy, which aims to maximize the potential of people with less than five years of professional experience and to help build a diverse, world-class team.
Interns can access leaders and the executive team, professional development classes, social activities, and other opportunities. Plus, they often receive full-time employment offers at Exact Sciences after graduation.
A few members of the 2023 class shared highlights from their experiences across the company.
Internship focus: Corporate Engineering
Work: It is quite exciting to work on commissioning machines for the next-generation Cologuard® test. Commissioning is a multistep engineering process to verify that equipment, systems, and processes will produce the expected results, and it is a critical step in applying for Food & Drug Administration approval. I’m most proud of introducing automation to streamline a step in the commissioning process. And my biggest takeaway from this internship has been the relationships and industry connections — I’ve gotten to meet one-on-one with about 25 people outside my direct team to learn about the engineering careers possible at Exact Sciences.
Internship focus: Medical Affairs, Screening
Work: One of my projects has been content management for Exact Academy, an online education platform for health care providers. I have been able to organize data on the site and align the content with current research and news in the colorectal cancer space. I’ve also contributed to materials for medical congresses and helped plan the inaugural Medical Affairs Screening Summit, which included educational and training sessions for both in-house and field-based team members. This position has shaped me into an even better teammate, communicator and collaborator, which will serve me well as I pursue a career in Medical Affairs.
Internship focus: Laboratory Instrument and Automation Services
Work: One project I’ve been tasked with has involved automating a lab accessioning process, which involves receiving incoming samples. I helped an outside engineering company implement a new automated line in one of our labs by learning about the new equipment and helping with debugging. In the shadowing I’ve done, I’ve seen all types of changes in our labs, and it really surprised me that such a well-oiled machine is still being improved to be better and better. It feels so good coming to work and knowing I’m supporting a greater goal of delivering life-changing innovations in earlier cancer detection.
Internship focus: Technical Laboratory
Work: My work involves sample processing from collection kits, which includes isolating DNA from the whole stool sample and prepping the hemoglobin sample. Each team member processes many samples, but no one works on autopilot — this job requires extreme attention to detail. Our procedures include several checks to ensure each sample is processed correctly to provide quality results to patients. Exact Sciences stresses the importance of remembering that each sample belongs to a human being who is anxiously awaiting their results. I am pursuing a degree in pathology; working here has helped fuel my passion to go into cancer research.
Internship focus: Manufacturing Sciences Operations
Work: My day-to-day work includes supporting my team with various detection tests both in and outside the lab. I’ve had a variety of experiences, including developing manufacturing processes and procedures, performing bench-level experiments, generating experimental protocols, and recapping activities through technical summary. Being able to see all the work that goes on behind the scenes to get tests to the public is inspiring. Some of my family and friends have been affected by cancer, and it’s wonderful knowing that my work has been a part of something larger that can help so many people.
Internship focus: Customer Care Operations
Work: One of the projects I worked on was improving the quality of the transfer process for people who call our Customer Care Center seeking information or assistance. My team analyzed the current state and met with stakeholders and subject-matter experts to get the insights needed to improve how calls are routed. The new process gets everyone on the same page, resulting in an easier experience and more clear and effective communication. It’s exciting to think that I have had a hand in helping our frontline team better assist the customer on the other side of the call.
Internship focus: Research and Development (R&D)
Work: I have had the opportunity to work on the MCED (multi-cancer early detection) test, a new technology in Exact Sciences’ pipeline for cancer testing. I spend most of my day in the lab studying ways to improve the specificity of biomarkers for cancer detection to minimize false-positive results. Assisting the MCED team in test development has been an amazing learning experience and has shown me how influential scientific research can be in patient care. Seeing the innovation here gives me hope for a brighter future in the fight against cancer.
Interested in an Exact Sciences internship? Watch our careers site for next summer’s internship opportunities, which are expected to be posted in September 2023.
At Exact Sciences, interns tackle real-world projects that help change lives, through hands-on work related to their career interests or studies. They run lab processes. They create critical materials. They improve the business in tangible ways that benefit patients.
The internship program is one component of Exact Sciences' early talent strategy, which aims to maximize the potential of people with less than five years of professional experience and to help build a diverse, world-class team.
Interns can access leaders and the executive team, professional development classes, social activities, and other opportunities. Plus, they often receive full-time employment offers at Exact Sciences after graduation.
A few members of the 2023 class shared highlights from their experiences across the company.
Caroline Craig
School: University of Wisconsin-MadisonInternship focus: Corporate Engineering
Work: It is quite exciting to work on commissioning machines for the next-generation Cologuard® test. Commissioning is a multistep engineering process to verify that equipment, systems, and processes will produce the expected results, and it is a critical step in applying for Food & Drug Administration approval. I’m most proud of introducing automation to streamline a step in the commissioning process. And my biggest takeaway from this internship has been the relationships and industry connections — I’ve gotten to meet one-on-one with about 25 people outside my direct team to learn about the engineering careers possible at Exact Sciences.
Lauren Maurer
School: University of Pittsburgh School of PharmacyInternship focus: Medical Affairs, Screening
Work: One of my projects has been content management for Exact Academy, an online education platform for health care providers. I have been able to organize data on the site and align the content with current research and news in the colorectal cancer space. I’ve also contributed to materials for medical congresses and helped plan the inaugural Medical Affairs Screening Summit, which included educational and training sessions for both in-house and field-based team members. This position has shaped me into an even better teammate, communicator and collaborator, which will serve me well as I pursue a career in Medical Affairs.
Jasper Mehlberger
School: University of Wisconsin-MadisonInternship focus: Laboratory Instrument and Automation Services
Work: One project I’ve been tasked with has involved automating a lab accessioning process, which involves receiving incoming samples. I helped an outside engineering company implement a new automated line in one of our labs by learning about the new equipment and helping with debugging. In the shadowing I’ve done, I’ve seen all types of changes in our labs, and it really surprised me that such a well-oiled machine is still being improved to be better and better. It feels so good coming to work and knowing I’m supporting a greater goal of delivering life-changing innovations in earlier cancer detection.
Taylor Miller
School: Eastern Virginia Medical SchoolInternship focus: Technical Laboratory
Work: My work involves sample processing from collection kits, which includes isolating DNA from the whole stool sample and prepping the hemoglobin sample. Each team member processes many samples, but no one works on autopilot — this job requires extreme attention to detail. Our procedures include several checks to ensure each sample is processed correctly to provide quality results to patients. Exact Sciences stresses the importance of remembering that each sample belongs to a human being who is anxiously awaiting their results. I am pursuing a degree in pathology; working here has helped fuel my passion to go into cancer research.
Chloe Moran
School: Milwaukee School of EngineeringInternship focus: Manufacturing Sciences Operations
Work: My day-to-day work includes supporting my team with various detection tests both in and outside the lab. I’ve had a variety of experiences, including developing manufacturing processes and procedures, performing bench-level experiments, generating experimental protocols, and recapping activities through technical summary. Being able to see all the work that goes on behind the scenes to get tests to the public is inspiring. Some of my family and friends have been affected by cancer, and it’s wonderful knowing that my work has been a part of something larger that can help so many people.
Lisa Nnaji
School: University of PennsylvaniaInternship focus: Customer Care Operations
Work: One of the projects I worked on was improving the quality of the transfer process for people who call our Customer Care Center seeking information or assistance. My team analyzed the current state and met with stakeholders and subject-matter experts to get the insights needed to improve how calls are routed. The new process gets everyone on the same page, resulting in an easier experience and more clear and effective communication. It’s exciting to think that I have had a hand in helping our frontline team better assist the customer on the other side of the call.
Krystal Ramnarine
School: Cornell UniversityInternship focus: Research and Development (R&D)
Work: I have had the opportunity to work on the MCED (multi-cancer early detection) test, a new technology in Exact Sciences’ pipeline for cancer testing. I spend most of my day in the lab studying ways to improve the specificity of biomarkers for cancer detection to minimize false-positive results. Assisting the MCED team in test development has been an amazing learning experience and has shown me how influential scientific research can be in patient care. Seeing the innovation here gives me hope for a brighter future in the fight against cancer.
Interested in an Exact Sciences internship? Watch our careers site for next summer’s internship opportunities, which are expected to be posted in September 2023.
